There is no acceptable 9-member plan.
The 2014 reapportionment which reduced this board [EBR School Board] from 11 to 9 members not only reduced the number of majority-Black districts in violation of the Voting Rights Act, it dramatically increased the number of constituents allocated to each school board member. The increase in population and geographical size undermines the integrity of our democratic elections, because it makes candidates more dependent on campaign contributions to run a competitive race. And since this board was downsized to 9, campaign contributions and spending in our school board elections by SuperPACs and out-of-state business interests has increased exponentially.
Michael Bloomberg is just one of the billionaires pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into our school board elections. In 2018 SuperPACs spent anywhere from fifty thousand to over one hundred thousand dollars in individual school board races in East Baton Rouge Parish.
That was in districts where there was a race. Three of you [EBR School Board members] were unopposed in 2018, which meant there was not even a pretense to a democratic election. I don’t believe you were unopposed because you are universally beloved by your constituents. I think that prospective candidates knew that because you were supported by the pro-charter billionaires and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, you were effectively unbeatable.
That makes a mockery of our American ideals. We are supposed to be a Republic. We are supposed to democratically elect our representatives. The 9-member map prohibits that because of the incredible size of these districts.
So I don’t care how often the Baton Rouge Area Chamber or the out-of-state billionaires or the wealthy pro-charter folks in this parish keep repeating the bogus talking point that a smaller board is “more efficient.” That doesn’t make it true. A smaller board is not more efficient. A smaller board is more autocratic. It is un-democratic. It is contrary to the ideals of this nation. It is un-American.
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and others who pushed for that unjust and un-American reapportionment in 2014 were able to do so because their wealth affords them, among other things, an air of respectability.
But let’s be clear: It is not respectable to rig a governance structure so that the rich and powerful can effectively dictate the outcome of elections.
I believe the best choice is the Finney 15. Fifteen single-member districts would restore the ideal ratio of elected official to constituents, but I understand there is no support for a 15 member plan.
Instead please consider that the last plan approved by the Department of Justice was an 11-member plan. That is the true benchmark plan. The best 11-member plan is the Ware-Collins 11. You should at the very least support the Ware-Collins 11, since it will restore some integrity to our elections.
An update about the April 7th meeting will be posted soon.